The Supreme National Defense Council was Iran’ s highest military institution during the 1360s (SH, 1980s), responsible for policymaking and directing the Imposed War.

After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the army and armed forces faced difficulties stemming from the events of the revolution’ s early days; leftist and Marxist groups, as well as the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization, even sought the dissolution of the army, claiming that the Iranian army was anti-people. Imam Khomeini, however, aware of these groups’ schemes and stating that the rank and file of the army were the sons of this nation, firmly stood against the calls for the army’ s dissolution.

In this situation, the Provisional Government of the Islamic Revolution, at the proposal of the Minister of Defense and with the aim of rebuilding the army and reorganizing the armed forces, approved, at the Council of Ministers’ session of 22‌^d Farvardin 1358 (11 April 1979), the plan to establish a “ Supreme National Defense and Security Council within the Prime Minister’ s Office. ” Under this law, the Supreme Defense Council was to be chaired by the prime minister and composed of the prime minister, the Minister of National Defense, one of the prime minister’ s selected deputies, the Chief of the General Staff of the National Army, and three senior officers of the armed forces (serving or retired) proposed by the Minister of National Defense and approved by the Council of Ministers. Its duties included addressing matters related to the organization of the army and gendarmerie and national defense — both in terms of border protection and internal security — reviewing information received from the counter-espionage and national intelligence bureau and analyzing and deciding on it, handling the army’ s general administrative and financial affairs, and preparing decrees related to the army and gendarmerie on behalf of the Minister of National Defense for the prime minister’ s endorsement.⁠[1]

With the convening of the Assembly of Experts for the Final Review of the Constitution’ s draft in the summer of 1358 (1979), the establishment of the Supreme Defense Council in a more coherent and developed form was raised among the representatives. Accordingly, under Article 110 of the Constitution, the members of the Supreme National Defense Council were: the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the Chief of the Army’ s Joint Staff, the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and two advisors appointed by the Leader of the Revolution; the council’ s duties included proposing the senior commanders of the three branches of the Islamic Republic of Iran’ s armed forces, declaring war and peace, and mobilizing popular forces under the Leader’ s command.

Despite the Supreme National Defense Council being provided for in the Constitution, the council’ s meetings were not held until the Iraqi Ba’ athist regime’ s attack on Iran in Shahrivar 1359 (August/September 1980).⁠[2] With the start of the Imposed War and the need to adopt a unified policy on the matter, Imam Khomeini, in a decree addressed to the country’ s armed forces, placed all war-related affairs in the military, propaganda and information, and foreign-policy spheres under the authority of the Supreme Defense Council, in addition to the duties and powers specified in the Constitution, and instructed the government to apprehend offenders and hand them over to revolutionary courts to be tried in a revolutionary manner in accordance with the country’ s defense situation.⁠[3]

Under this decree, changes were also made to the list of Supreme Defense Council members, and one member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly was added to the council. It was also decided that, in the absence of the Leader’ s representatives on the council, two members of parliament — one of whom was the Speaker of Parliament — would attend the Supreme Defense Council’ s meetings.⁠[4] In addition, Hojjat al-Islam Seyyed Ahmad Khomeini would customarily attend the council’ s meetings in order to convey its decisions more quickly to Imam Khomeini;⁠[5] at times, the council’ s meetings were also held at Imam Khomeini’ s residence (Beit-e Imam), with him present.⁠[6]

In the early months of the war, as disagreements arose among officials over various national issues, including the management of the Imposed War, Imam Khomeini, in his ten-point message of 25‌^th Esfand 1359 (16 March 1981), once again emphasized the council’ s authority over war-related matters.⁠[7]

The Supreme Defense Council’ s role during the Imposed War can be divided into two periods. The first period ran from its establishment until Azar 1360 (November/December 1981), following Operation Tariq al-Qods, during which the council had an operational character. The second period began after Operation Tariq al-Qods, when, with the formation of the Karbala Headquarters and the arrival of a new command team in the IRGC and the army, operational matters were transferred to the Karbala Headquarters, and the council’ s role became mainly one of staff work and policymaking.⁠[8]

The ex officio members of the Supreme Defense Council throughout the Imposed War were as follows:

President: Seyyed Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, Mohammad-Ali Rajaei (martyred), and Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (martyred).

Prime Minister: Mohammad-Ali Rajaei (martyred),⁠[9] Mohammad-Javad Bahonar (martyred),⁠[10] Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani,⁠[11] and Mir-Hossein Mousavi.⁠[12]

Minister of Defense: Colonel Javad Fakouri (martyred),⁠[13] Colonel Seyyed Musa Namjoo (martyred),⁠[14] Colonel Mohammad Salimi,⁠[15] and Colonel Mohammad-Hossein Jalali.⁠[16]

Chief of the Army’ s Joint Staff: Lieutenant General Hadi Shademehr,⁠[17] Brigadier General Valiollah Fallahi (martyred),⁠[18] Brigadier General Qasemali Zahirnejad,⁠[19] Brigadier General Esmail Sohrabi,⁠[20] and Brigadier General Ali Shahbazi.⁠[21]

IRGC Commander: Morteza Rezaei⁠[22] and Mohsen Rezaei.⁠[23]

Parliamentary Representatives: Hojjat al-Islam Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Montazeri (martyred), and Seyyed Ali-Akbar Parvaresh.⁠[24]

Representatives of Imam Khomeini: Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (martyred), Mostafa Chamran (martyred),⁠[25] Colonel Seyyed Musa Namjoo (martyred),⁠[26] Hojjat al-Islam Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,⁠[27] Brigadier General Qasemali Zahirnejad,⁠[28] Colonel Ali Sayyad Shirazi (martyred),⁠[29] and Mohsen Rafiqdoust (Minister of the IRGC).⁠[30]

From its establishment until its dissolution, the Supreme Defense Council issued numerous resolutions on matters related to the Imposed War, including: establishing the Supreme Defense Council’ s Propaganda Headquarters aimed at coordinating war propaganda policy; reviewing the peace proposals of the UN Secretary-General’ s representative and the war investigation committee; dispatching political and propaganda delegations to Asian and European countries to explain the war situation and Iraq’ s aggression, in 1359 (1980/1981); planning several operations and shifting the war policy from a defensive to an offensive posture; reviewing negotiations and responding to peace proposals and plans put forward by international bodies; approving the dispatch of Iraqi volunteer prisoners of war to Palestine to fight against the Zionist regime; reviewing future war plans and preparing and formulating plans for the country’ s defense system and the rebuilding of the army, in 1360 (1981/1982); approving the policy of punishing the aggressor and obtaining war reparations from Iraq; deciding to liberate the western regions of the country; deciding to send forces to southern Lebanon; approving and emphasizing the strategy of pursuing the aggressor onto its own territory, in 1361 (1982/1983); deciding to continue the war until Iran’ s conditions were fully met (punishing the aggressor and receiving war reparations); preventing stagnation on the war fronts; approving and establishing the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters in the winter of 1362 (1983/1984) and appointing Hojjat al-Islam Hashemi Rafsanjani as the supreme commander of the war in 1362; deciding to confront and force the Ba’ athist regime to halt the bombing of cities, as well as deciding to unilaterally release a number of disabled Iraqi prisoners of war, in 1363 (1984/1985); deciding to strengthen the IRGC in accordance with Imam Khomeini’ s order to establish the Corps’ three branches — ground, air, and naval forces — and decisions to secure the Persian Gulf and block Iraq’ s maritime route, in 1364 (1985/1986); planning to end the war through military superiority, as well as approving the formation of the Qods Reserve Battalions, in 1365 (1986/1987); and outlining the war strategy in joint sessions with the Council of Ministers, the plan for the large-scale dispatch of forces to the fronts, the increased activity of the War Propaganda Headquarters, and decision-making regarding Resolution 598, in 1366 (1987/1988).⁠[31]

With the end of the Imposed War and following the revision of the Constitution in 1368 (1989), the Supreme National Defense Council was removed from the country’ s political structure, and under Article 176, the Supreme National Security Council — which has broader powers than the Supreme Defense Council — was established. The members of the Supreme National Security Council, which is responsible for determining the country’ s defense and security policies within the framework of the general policies set by the Leader of the Revolution, coordinating political, intelligence, social, cultural, and economic activities in connection with general defense-security measures, and utilizing the country’ s material and spiritual resources to confront internal and external threats, are: the heads of the three branches of government, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the official in charge of planning and budget affairs, two representatives appointed by the Leader of the Revolution, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Intelligence and, as relevant, the minister concerned, and the highest-ranking officer of the army and the IRGC.⁠[32]

In accordance with its duties, this council forms subordinate councils such as the Defense Council and the National Security Council. The chairmanship of each of these councils rests with the President or with one of the members of the Supreme Council whom the President designates.⁠[33]

After the end of Israel’ s 12-day imposed war against Iran in Tir 1404 (June/July 2025), with the aim of enhancing the country’ s preparedness against military and security threats and increasing the involvement of the country’ s military commanders in wartime decision-making, the Defense Council was revived as one of the subordinate councils of the Supreme National Security Council,⁠[34] and Ali-Akbar Ahmadian and Ali Shamkhani (martyred) were appointed as representatives of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution on this council,⁠[35] Ali Shamkhani was martyred in Esfand 1404 (February/March 2026) in the Ramadan War.